OTTAWA, CANADA, April 27, 2016 – Telesat, a leading global satellite operator, has procured two prototype Ka-band satellites for operation in low earth orbit (LEO) that Telesat anticipates launching mid-to-late 2017 as part of a test and validation phase for an advanced, global LEO satellite constellation that Telesat is developing. Through an authorization issued by Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED), Telesat has secured priority rights to certain Ka-band spectrum in non-geostationary orbits (NGSO) at the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) to operate such a constellation.

Telesat has contracted with Space Systems Loral (SSL) of Palo Alto, California, and Surrey Satellite Technology Limited (SSTL), an independent British company within the Airbus Defence & Space group, for the procurement of the prototypes. By drawing on the advanced technologies and expertise of these leading manufacturers, Telesat will test and demonstrate two distinct spacecraft in LEO, a key step in optimizing the design and performance of Telesat’s contemplated LEO constellation.

...Our two Phase 1 LEO satellites will be launching later this year. One is being built by Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd. based in the U.K., a company within the Airbus Defence and Space group. It will be placed into LEO orbit using an ISRO Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV). The second is being built by Space Systems Loral, partnering with the Space Flight Laboratory at the University of Toronto, and will be delivered to orbit on a Soyuz launcher. ...

In total, 17 sats are planned to be put into orbit from the Russian territory, among them LEO Vantage and AISSat-3 (both Canada), IDEA (Japan), SEAM (Sweden), two Landmapper-BC and 10 LEMUR (all USA), D- Star One (Germany).As part of Roscosmos' commitments, the Russian student satellite Baumanets-2 will also be launched.

First of the Telesat LEO prototypes scheduled to launch Nov. 28, only weighs 70kg.

Will be one of Telesat’s two satellites launching into Low Earth Orbit this year as part of company’s planned global constellation

Palo Alto, CA – November 7, 2017 – SSL, a business unit of Maxar Technologies (formerly MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates Ltd.) (NYSE: MAXR; TSX: MAXR), announced today that the Low Earth Orbit (LEO) communications satellite it recently provided to Telesat has arrived at the Vostochny Cosmodrome in Eastern Russia where it will launch aboard a Soyuz-2 vehicle provided by Glavkosmos. This will be one of two Telesat Phase 1 satellites planned for launch this year that will allow Telesat to start testing key performance parameters of its next generation global LEO constellation.

“Developing this innovative LEO spacecraft for Telesat demonstrates our strength in collaborating with partners to meet new space goals,” said Dario Zamarian, group president of SSL. “With this satellite for Telesat, we have taken an entirely fresh approach to designing a high performing smallsat that will advance Telesat’s plans to launch an important next-generation business.”

The launch of this Phase 1 LEO will be a key step in Telesat’s goal to accelerate the world’s digital transformation by providing, through its LEO constellation, high performing, cost effective, fiber-like connectivity anywhere on the planet for business, government and individual users.

“Telesat’s LEO constellation will deliver fiber-like broadband on a global basis to commercial and government markets, and the launch of our Phase 1 LEO satellites is the starting point in making this next generation system a reality,” said Dave Wendling, Chief Technical Officer of Telesat. “Telesat is grateful to SSL for their many contributions during the design and construction of this innovative spacecraft. We look forward to a successful launch and beginning testing on our Phase 1 LEO satellites shortly after.”

SSL has worked with Telesat for nearly 20 years to expand its satellite fleet and there are currently two Telesat geostationary satellites in production at SSL’s Palo Alto facility, where the company integrates space proven building blocks with technology advances that enable better performance and more power and capacity for broadcast and broadband applications.

Telesat’s Phase 1 LEO smallsat is expected to launch in late November from Eastern Russia’s newest launch base, together with a Russian weather observation satellite and several other co-passengers. SSL partnered with the Space Flight Laboratory (SFL) of Toronto, Canada to build the spacecraft and SFL is managing launch base mission operations.

SSL’s growing LEO business includes satellites for Earth Observation, Communications and Satellite Servicing, and demonstrates the company’s agility in implementing new technologies and processes to drive innovation.

Following market approval given to OneWeb in June, the U.S. Federal Communications Commission on Nov. 3 granted global fleet operator Telesat permission to reach the U.S. with a constellation of 117 low-Earth orbit satellites.

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Canada-based Telesat is the second LEO constellation after OneWeb to receive market access from the United States.

The FCC also granted Space Norway market access Nov. 3 to reach the U.S. with two satellites in non-geostationary elliptical orbits. Both Telesat and ViaSat sought to block Space Norway.

Vostochny Cosmodrome, Eastern Russia, November 28, 2017 – Telesat learned this morning that the Soyuz 2 launch vehicle that was to place 19 spacecraft into orbit, including Telesat’s first Phase 1 LEO satellite, has failed.

Notwithstanding this failure, Telesat’s plans to develop a state-of-the-art, high capacity LEO constellation that will deliver transformative, low latency, fiber-like broadband to commercial and government users worldwide, remain on track. A second Phase 1 LEO satellite is scheduled for launch in the coming weeks on ISRO’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) from the Sriharikota launch site.

The successful launch of an Indian Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) Jan. 11 marked not just the return to flight of the rocket but also major achievements for several of the companies with payloads on board the vehicle....Canadian satellite operator Telesat also had a payload on the rocket, one of its two demonstration satellites for its planned low Earth orbit constellation. The 168-kilogram LEO Phase 1 satellite, built by Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd. in the United Kingdom, will test technologies Telesat plans to use in a 120-satellite constellation the company plans to deploy by 2021. The other satellite, built by the University of Toronto’s Space Flight Laboratory, was lost on a failed Soyuz launch in November.

“The launch of our Phase 1 satellite is the starting point in making our next generation LEO system a reality and we thank SSTL and ISRO for the success of the mission to date,” Dan Goldberg, president and CEO of Telesat, said in a statement. The company said it will use the satellite in trials with a number of customers in “growing enterprise segments” later in the year.